Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Maryland man was sentenced today to over 27 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release for producing and possessing child sexual abuse material.
According to court documents, Juan Carlos Puente, 48, of Clinton, Maryland, used Facebook to entice a minor living in the Dominican Republic to perform sexual acts on herself and to send Puente videos of herself engaging in the requested acts in exchange for money. Records also reflected multiple money transfers from Puente to the victim, and he was explicit in directing her on what to do in the videos. Law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Puente’s residence in Maryland in January 2024 and discovered additional child sexual abuse material, including a video recording of two minors engaged in various sex acts in which one child appeared to be approximately six years old. The investigation also revealed that Puente had traveled repeatedly between the Dominican Republic and the United States, and that he had sexually abused children in both countries. On at least one occasion, he paid his victim through an intermediary, because she was too young to be able to receive funds virtually. Puente pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of producing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography involving a prepubescent minor in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland made the announcement.
This case was investigated by FBI Baltimore, with assistance from FBI Santo Domingo and the Dominican National Police.
Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan McKoy for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.